Tips for insomnia

I’ve always been a light sleeper, but during the bout of heart trouble I was having a lot of trouble with heavy dreaming (a side effect of the medication). Since coming off the heart drugs I’m still a light sleeper but finding that I’m waking up in the middle of the night (usually around 3am) and not being able to return to sleep.

It’s a freaking hassle, I’m tired for days at a time, and I’m bloody sick of it. The past few days have been the worse, I’m finding myself starting something then thinking, wtf was I doing?

I already have a few mechanisms in place, and if it keeps up I’m off to a professional. But any hints in the meantime are much appreciated.

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15 Responses to “Tips for insomnia”

I always find that, eventually, it’s the fear of not sleeping that keeps me awake. I found one pretty good cure for this though: Explain my predicament to my employer and ask if, over the next few days I can come in late if needs be. Then, if I find myself awake, awake, awake I just turn off my alarm and say ‘oh well you’ll get back to sleep when you do and you’ll sleep until you need to’. Sleep usually follows quick enough.

oh, and definitely don’t think about work. Don’t try and think about nothing (real difficult) just think about something distracting. Believe it or not political philosophy works for me.

5HTP fans: 5HT = serotonin = a neurotransmitter. I had to full out five pages of forms to have a couple of milligrams lying around the lab, I wouldn’t be taking a random dose just because a spotty oik behind a counter recommended it. People’s willingness to play around with their brain chemistry never ceases to amaze me.

The melatonin has a far more specific action and sounds like a much better idea. Of course you might have actually consult a doctor to get some…

Che, have you tried the old regular daily exercise? Another useful thing is to always go to bed at the same time, and try to get up fairly early and take in some morning sunlight (it helps set your body clock, if your sleeping pattern is out of sync with the sun your brain hormones can go a bit haywire).

In addition to other suggestions (5HTP works for me as does kavakava):
– stop drinking for a couple of weeks. This never used to make a difference to me, but as I’ve got older, alcohol, particularly red wine, turns out to make for really broken sleep. See whether it does for you too.
– likewise no caffeine after, say, 3 pm.
– if you’re waking up thinking about stuff, then you have stressful things that you need to deal with. Do whatever you can to lighten the load and organise what’s left so that your unconscious mind doesn’t have to ruminate on it.
– avoid tv or computer screens within an hour of bed. The light is too stimulating.
– make sure that your bedroom is really dark and quiet. If not, try an eyemask and earplugs.
– don’t eat too late.
– move the clock so you can’t see it from your bed. If you’re awake, remember that nighttime waking is normal, don’t worry about it, and enjoy the peace and quiet.
– if you’re still awake after 20 mins or so, get up, take piss and have a drink of water, then sit quietly in a chair for a bit in the dark. Then go back to bed.

Yeah, me too. Natural night owl punctuated by bouts of chronic insomnia where I’ll go about a week getting anywhere from five hours a night to none. Fucks you up real bad, and the effects on me generally are much worse as I get older.

A couple of years back my acupuncturist (who’s also a GP) put me on melatonin capsules, melatonin being one of the brain hormones that regualates sleep. He also gave me a prescription for sleeping pills, to cash in if the melatonin didn’t work. We had to play with the dose and the time I took it a bit, but it did work, and it didn’t make me feel like a zombie.

All those other things people tell you, like not eating late, cutting out caffeine, getting exercise, lavender baths, I’ve tried all of that and it didn’t work.

Have you tried Lavender? You could put some drops of Lavender essential oil on the underside of your pillow – you can even rub some oil directly to your temples and the back of your neck. Another option is to use lavender oil in a burner and that is amazingly soothing and relaxing. Scully’s produce a Lavender Sleep Aid (i have seen it in local pharmacies) which is a balm that can be applied on the temples and under your nose. I have found using lavender helpful. It may work and might not but it wouldn’t hurt to try.

I think the worst thing to do is lie there in bed and be aware you are awake when you want to be asleep. Another thing that works for me is music – the kind that winds you down rather than stimulates you – certain classical music is perfect. I have come to the conclusion the best thing to do is get up, make a drink (have you tried herbal teas) and read or do some work. I eventually end up back in bed asleep.

I’m naturally a night owl but I found the same last year, but not being able to get off to sleep. Once I’m asleep – no worries. It could be World War III outside an I wouldn’t know it.

Anyhoo, I got my ass down to one of the natural herbal places and got myself some sleeping aid pills. (I went out to Health 10-20 at J’ville, but Health 2000 in Willis St will stock some.) Now I hate taking pills for anything, but I was pretty desperate for some sleep, so I thought it was at least a try.

There is a couple of different brands, but I got the Sleep Manager with “5-HTP for a deep sleep”. Just pop a couple of these capsules an hour before bed and you’ll be away sleeping. I swear by them and I only had to use them for a week and bit for I was back to normal.